The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1887-07-23

at the house -Etna erupted with roal
and Symmetry was buried in the tshe.
of paternal Indignation. She dug herself
out, however, and returned to the at
tack. The dampness of loving maiden's
tears gradually checked the blaze of his
quite unconsciously selfish fires. 1t fin
ally got them under control and pat them
ont. The old gentlemen at last consented
upon condition, but the conditions were
almost as b ad as no consent at all.
It's no use a talkin' SYM said he
You We been to Pennington an know
probly a great deal more'n any gir
oughter. They alters learn great dea
more n they oughter at boardin' school
But yer DON'T know anything like as
much as yer father, an yer won't if ye
live ter be / 900 years Old. tell ye I'm
right about this. don't keer how much
the Teller says he loves yer. | want tc
know how much git up an git he's got,
to fight his way an yourn through the
world with. Now git up an git in man
is nothin in the world but Electricity
Lemme measure his Electricity an then
I'll tell zee what think of him might y
quick"
ooh, papa. How absurdr' protested
poor, perplexed and bothered Symmetry
"Absurd nothin'. Amt life force and
Electricity the same thing? Amt the
nerves the finest Electrical conductors
known, an amt every one of 'em insu.
lated as perfect as an ocean cable? Hain't
Herbert Spencer come rouLd square toed
to admit it, when first he wouldn't heal
to it ten years ago? l tell ye I'm right,
Sym. | know Pm right. It's your hap.
piness I'm thinkin' of, not mine. Girls
don't know pothin'. They know little
enough after they're married, but before
that they might as well be babies in lace
caps"
''But. papa, what is it you want Doc
i mead Mr.. Eellum-tO do?'
81 want him to wear silk underclothes
when he comes up here, an silk mixed
SUIT guess they won't hurt him.
wear EN- myself and they never hurt
me-"
''But how can l write him such a
thing?"
you'll have to figger that out fol-
yourself. You've been to school enough
seems to me-
ooh, dear"' sighed Symmetry, as she
bent to her task. And many burning
bushes and not a few sobs she used VI
a whole quire OF note paper before she
finally achieved the somewhat non com
initial communication which found It'll
way to Mr.. Vellum's hands.
Mr.. Nellum, however was acquainteG
with none of these circumstances. He
was as completely perplexed and aston
ished as shad which had thoughtlessly
migrated from the river up water pipe
and found itself confronted by bath tut
entirely foreign to its plans. lie puzzled
over the letter all the afternoon. He de
bated and he worried, for it was already
Friday. Finally, in complete despair, he
sent a telegram:
Miss Symmetry When, When's Whim
BeeswaX Junction. Connecticut:
Do you mean hosiery and so forth? D.
He awaited the answer feverishly. II
came at s p. m.
Mr.. Doodovey Vellum, Pelionossa Flats
New York:
Yes, everything. s.
Everything went. When Mr.. Vellum
descended from the train at Beeswas
Junction late in the following afternoon
he wore silk underwear, neat silk dress
shirt, silk necktie, silk stockings. silk
mixed diagonal suit, silk hat, silky mus
tache, and manners that were soft and
silken in the extreme
The old gentleman, though eccentric
was none the less keen on that account
He desired Symmetry to have husband
who could love her deeply, and in conse.
quence, cherish and tenderly care for her
lie had no sentiments-the old electri
clan. He looked upon vital force as
merely form of electrical force He
regarded the human body simply as a
complex machine, and all its acts, OF
thought and sentiment, as we'll as mus
cular motion, as purely electrical pheno
mena. He believed that any mans emo
tional capacity was directly proportioned
t. his possession of latent nerve force
Consequently he calmly and resoluteiy
had determined to let Mr.. Velum woo
Symmetry to the full of his wishes, but
he proposed to know exactly how much
he actually loved her by keeping track Of
the process with his galvanometer.
His plan was simply this: Mr.. Velun
while making love, should be insulated
and should be the connecting link be
tween two positive and negative wires
which wires should run from the arena o.
loves young dream, the beautiful twi
light stiffness of the garden, into the mat
ter-of-fact seclusion and the unsentimep
tai surroundings of Mr.. When's library
This was why he had insisted on silk
clothing, because he wanted to give Mr.
Nellum every show. and silk was the best
conductor in the list of fabrics. Conse.
quently, having given his consent, he fit
ted up two stationary stuffed cloth chairs
beneath a spreading elm, just where &
colonnade Of beautiful trees led away tc
the moonlit surface of sleeping silver
lake. 1t was beautiful place for mans
and pure and cnuobling ambitions of &
manly love, to expand itself. 1t was alsC
first-class locality to bring out all the
sympathetic electricity there was in him
thought the old gentleman as he surveyed
his work and chuckled. The chairs were
similar and were placed side by side quite
close together. The only difference be
tween them was that Mr.. Vellum's haC
two narrow strips Of brass running dowr
the back and across the seat of the chair
outside the wooden upholstery. From
these slips two fine No. y copper wires
led down the chair legs, up the trunk Of
the aim, along a branch, across the lawr
to the portico, around the corner OF the
house, through the library window anG
connected with the positive and negative
poles of Mr.. When's galvanometer The
chairs stood on the platform, which ap
peared to be of rough wood, but was
really large plate of rough glass. Mr.
Vellum, when he obeyed the promptings